President William Ruto with leaders from the African Independent Pentecostal Church at State House, Nairobi, June 10, 2025/PCSPresident William Ruto has stated that the Kenya Kwanza government has facilitated the employment of 400,000 youthful Kenyans abroad for the 1000 days it has been in power.
Speaking on Tuesday when he hosted over 600 leaders from the African Independent Pentecostal Church (AIPC) at State House, Nairobi, Ruto said they are now earning between Sh100,000 and Sh200,000.
"I have formed the National Employment Authority, and I have announced, but I don't know why people don't listen. Every month, 10,000 youth leave the country to go work abroad," the President said, and urged AIPC leadership to ensure youth from the church are among the lot.
Ruto said the youth should not choose what job they will do once abroad, saying any job, provided it pays well, is a good job.
"So, instead of being people who complain, let's look for opportunities. Let us be part of the solution."
The Kenya Kwanza government launched the labour export programme in March 2023.
Under the initiative, the government has been actively negotiating with countries to secure job opportunities for Kenyans, particularly unemployed youth, to employ around 1.76 million people.
But in early April, Kenyans cried foul, saying the government-backed overseas jobs scheme had left them stranded, terming as a false promise a pledge by recruitment agencies to facilitate their travel despite paying
They told MPs that the job placements reportedly took place in late 2024 and mainly targeted job placements in the Middle East.
Amid the growing outrage, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), Esther Muoria, defended the labour export programme, arguing that it has been instrumental in addressing the unemployment crisis in the country.
“A lot of noise has been going on, and I want to say, as far as I am concerned, that it is unnecessary noise that we are sending a lot of people to go out there and work. You can work anywhere in this world if you have a skill. So yes, young people can go out there and work,” she said while speaking at the Nyeri National Polytechnic on May 8.
Last year, the Ministry of Labour revealed it planned to export at least one million Kenyan workers overseas annually as part of a new job creation strategy.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) on Friday, May 2, Labour CS Dr Alfred Mutua acknowledged the frustrations of those still waiting to travel.
He attributed the delays to standard visa processing timelines, employer preparedness, and in some cases, sector-specific requirements such as licensing exams for healthcare workers.
The CS reassured applicants that they were free to withdraw from the programme and request refunds if they no longer wished to proceed.
“If any agency refuses to refund you, come to me directly. We will ensure justice is done, whether that means getting your money back or securing your placement," he said.
